Landfill cover performance monitoring using time domain reflectometry
- Parsons Infrastructure & Technology Group, Inc., Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Lockheed-Martin Idaho Technologies Company, Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
Time domain reflectometry (TDR) systems were installed to monitor soil moisture in two newly constructed landfill covers at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. Each TDR system includes four vertical arrays with each array consisting of four TDR probes located at depths of 15, 30, 45, and 60 cm. The deepest probes at 60 cm were installed beneath a compacted soil layer to analyze infiltration through the compacted layer. Based on the TDR data, infiltration through the two covers between March and October, 1997 ranged from less than measurable to 1.5 cm. However, due to a prohibition on penetrating the buried waste and resulting limits on probe placement depths, deeper percolation was not evaluated. Some of the advantages found in the application of TDR for infiltration monitoring at this site are the relative low cost and rugged nature of the equipment. Also, of particular importance, the ability to collect frequent moisture measurements allows the capture and evaluation of soil moisture changes resulting from episodic precipitation events. Disadvantages include the inability to install the probes into the waste, difficulties in interpretation of infiltration during freeze/thaw periods, and some excessive noise in the data.
- Research Organization:
- Idaho National Engineering Lab., Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC07-94ID13223
- OSTI ID:
- 587663
- Report Number(s):
- INEEL/CON--97-00916; CONF-980307--; ON: DE98052265
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Comparison of neutron probe and time domain reflectometry techniques of soil moisture analysis
Summary of activities at the Engineered Barriers Test Facility, October 1, 1995 to January 31, 1997, and initial data